TV actress Claire Engler

Events in 2001 and 18-1

Events in US in the birth year of Claire Engler

• In final days of presidency, Bill Clinton issues controversial pardons, including one for Marc Rich, billionaire fugitive financier (Jan. 20).
• George W. Bush is sworn in as 43rd president (Jan. 20).
• U.S. submarine Greeneville sinks Japanese fishing boat, killing 9 (Feb. 9).
• FBI agent Robert Hanssen is charged with spying for Russia for 15 years (Feb. 20).
• Race riots in Cincinnati continue for several days following a shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer (April 7 et seq.).
• Four are declared guilty in 1998 terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania (May 29). Background: U.S. Embassy Bombings.
• Balance of the Senate shifts after Jim Jeffords of Vermont changes his party affiliation from Republican to Independent. The move strips Republicans of control of the Senate and gives Democrats the narrowest of majorities (50-49-1) (June 5).
• Bush signs new tax-cut law, the largest in 20 years (June 7). Background: Economic Downturn and a Tax Cut.
• Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh executed (June 11).
• Budget surplus dwindles. The Congressional Budget Office attributes this rapid change in the nation's fortunes to the slowing economy and the Bush tax cut (Aug. 22). Background: Economic Downturn and a Tax Cut.
• Terrorists attack United States. Hijackers ram jetliners into twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane crashes 80 mi outside of Pittsburgh (Sept. 11). Toll of dead and injured in thousands. Within days, Islamic militant Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist network are identified as the parties behind the attacks.
• Anthrax scare rivets nation, as anthrax-laced letters are sent to various media and government officials. Several postal workers die after handling the letters (throughout October).

Birthday Claire Engler (18-1) in history

• Day 18-1 year 1733: The first polar bear was exhibited in Boston, USA
• Day 18-1 year 1778: Captain James Cook became the first European to visit the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).
• Day 18-1 year 1782: Former US Secretary of State Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire.
• Day 18-1 year 1788: The First Fleet, carrying convicts and sheep, arrived in Australia's Botany Bay.
• Day 18-1 year 1912: The ill-fated Scott expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover Amundsen had been there first.
• Day 18-1 year 1943: The Nazi siege of Leningrad was broken.
• Day 18-1 year 1993: All 50 states joined in the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.